Has anyone seen this movie? It's actually pretty damn competent filmmaking for a first feature. The guys who directed it have been writing in Hollywood for a while (Bad Santa, Bad News Bears remake), but this was the first one they directed. It debuted at Sundance and then sat on a shelf... for 2 years.
Now, if you've been following these guys, you'd know that they just hit it big with Crazy, Stupid, Love which starred some of the biggest names and is getting fairly good critical reception and is also a hit at the box office (?)... I'm actually not sure how it has performed money-wise, but something tells me it did all right. My point is, they're going to be fine.
But I wanted to use this post to talk about one of the many things that bothers me about the American film climate. Namely, how the masses want their movies straight. I'm not solely speaking about how America is still largely homophobic and will avoid gay movies at any cost (pretty much true though), but rather how America is a country which does not value art. It craves entertainment.
Somewhere in our nation's history (and I suspect it was the late 70s and 80s that did it), we gave ourselves over to spectacle-- easy to understand, colorful, unambiguous spectacle. Our proclivity for products that are easy to consume has eclipsed our desire for provocation and insight into the human condition. This would explain why the top grossing movies in this country (and now, unfortunately, the world) are either James Cameron extravaganzas that nobody wants to watch once they're on home video, Harry Potter films, Michael Bay films, or Pirates of the Caribbean 1 2 3 and 4. When will America wake up and realize that it's all the same movie? The same story, the same themes, the same special effects, the same actors, the same! I'm going to stop myself before I launch into an anti-Capitalist rampage, but suffice to say, it's all about the money.
Which is a shame. Because the one good Jim Carrey movie that has come out in the last 5 years, nobody saw. I Love You, Phillip Morris was finally released and it did pretty poor business. It was his best performance in such a long time and people wouldn't see it because it wasn't straight. The same could be said about his best movie before that, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
What are the Jim Carrey movies that actually do well? Spectacle. You get to watch as Jim Carrey makes a complete ass of himself (which, ok, he's a talented performer and that's why he's Jim Carrey, we like watching him be stupid) as God's servant or as a Pet Detective or as The Mask or as someone who can't lie or as someone who says Yes to everything or as The Grinch or as a guy who has an apartment full of penguins. And while many of you will defend some of these less than brilliant works because they "make you laugh" or "are stupid but funny" or "no, I actually think this is a good movie" or whatever, I'm not really talking about the individual works so much as I'm talking about the mindset of Hollywood, which is, "Give the people what they want." But is that really what we, as a society, want?
Remember the last Jim Carrey movie that was both popular and great? It was The Truman Show. Do you remember the reception for that movie? People loved it. But not because it was an easy film, or because Jim Carrey was doing something stupid, or because they laughed. They liked it because it challenged their perceptions of the world. It was a big shining piece of Art disguised as a Jim Carrey movie and because nobody was expecting it, they got tricked into going. And guess what... they actually left the theatre talking about it.
Of course, that's the power of art. To actually move you or provoke you when you least expected it. Unfortunately, when people hear that I Love You, Phillip Morris is a "gay movie," it will be an automatic turn-off for most. But for those of you who aren't homophobic and love them some good Jim Carrey, this movie is the bomb.
Are you sure Americans just gave themselves over to spectacle in the 70's or 80's? I obviously don't know film history like you do, but I think Americans have always had this work ethic where they work themselves to exhaustion, and are too tired to think about anything, so they want to be spoon fed entertainment. In Europe life is about more balance: work, but have life outside of work with fellowship and travel and discussion. I think life is more designed for continuing education through travel, visiting other cultures and ways of life, and cuisine, and incorporating all that into sharing it with friends etc... I think our history on the other hand because we were a nation of immigrants has always been working to get out of poverty, buying stuff, throwing it away, and working to buy more stuff. Do you find the pre 1970 movies more thought provoking?
ReplyDeleteI just wrote a very long response to your comment and then I submitted it and there was an error and it was erased. Damn.
ReplyDeleteVery well thought out commentary. Thank you for saying this. Ugh. I was watching Rosemary's Baby the other night at home when my roommate and his girlfriend came home during the last 10 minutes and I said, "nooo! You can't watch this. It'll ruin it". To which she replied, "oh. I tried to watch it and I thought the beginning was really slow, but the end seems exciting." Sigh. This annoyed me and I said, "well. Sometimes you have to be patient and slow down to appreciate the art of some movies".....Which is one point you made above. I even find myself "just wanting to be entertained" and then I take a deep breath and get over that impulse; for to look solely for entertainment would be to such a grey, shallow existence.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I watched I Love You, Philip Morris and found it delightful and well acted. My commentary relating to this specific film would be that they marketed it totally wrong and titled it wrong. When I heard of the movie I thought it was some rip off of "Thank You For Smoking" cigarette movie ala Philip Morris the tobacco conglomerate. Oh silly me.
Yeah, everybody gets that way from time to time. I've got a whole netflix queue of art films and every time I sit down to watch a movie, I just want to watch some heist film or something...
ReplyDeleteThe act of sitting down to watch a challenging film or read a challenging book is akin to making one's self do work. The hardest part is sitting down and saying, "ok. I'm doing this." But usually once you do, the experience is fulfilling.
And also, it's a little silly that I used I Love You Phillip Morris as an example, because it really is a very entertaining movie and not much of a so-called art film.
On another note, Rosemary's Baby is amazing from scene 1. your roommate must have been drunk :)